Shows carried primarily by one actor

I was thinking today about shows that are primarily carried by one performer....to the extent that the actor rarely leaves the stage and performs in almost every number. The first example that comes to mind is Laura Bell Bundy in Legally Blonde. I know the role took a huge toll on her physically and led to missed performances and some vocal issues. What other examples can you think of?

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Jersey Boys

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DOUBLE POST

Updated On: 8/9/09 at 12:23 AM

In Jane Eyre the woman who plays Jane rarely (if ever) leaves the stage and performs in most of the numbers.

ETA: Also, Irena's Vow felt like a one woman show even though it had a cast of 9 or 10 people.

Updated On: 8/9/09 at 01:35 AM

I thought going into this post you meant a show being carried by one actor/actress, as in a bad show that was OK/good cause of a particular actess.
Cause my answer would be Heidi Blickenstaff in Little Mermaid, she saved that show for me..(And I never was a Blickenstaff fan, I never even seen TOS).

But as far as actors literally being on stage I think their are a few

Elephaba in wicked is one. Shes almost in every scene and sings 90% of the songs.

Princeton/Rod in Avenue Q. One actor plays both roles and both characters are big parts of the show. If princeton isint on stage on scene, rod is.

Theirs lots of roles like that

Shrek

Billy Elliot

either Phantom or Christine.

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obligatory: Patti LuPone in Gypsy

Gypsy
Funny Girl
Fiddle on the Roof
Billy Elliot
Jykle and Hyde

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Elphaba may sing IN 90% of the songs, but even that's not true...

I love this sentence.

Sunday in The Park With George comes to my mind. George only leaves during "No Life," "Gossip," and "Everybody Loves Louis." I thought he left during "The One on The Left" too but Daniel Evans is included in the artist credits somehow....

The character of Sweet Charity is in almost every scene, song, and dance of that show. Who ever performs that role has to go home exhausted every night.

^

I don't think Claude (or any character for that matter) carries the show. Pretty much the entire tribe is onstage for nearly the whole show. Plus about a dozen or so tribe members each have a moment to shine.

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I don't think a lot of these examples work. Elphaba may have the harder role to sing (and I would never argue that), but Wicked is carried by both women. The show is most successful when they feed off each other, not when one of them "carries" the show. I would say Wicked is carried by two women.

I'll say that Gypsy is carried by all three leads, particularly in act 2. Yes, Rose is at the apex of the triangle, but she's not singing all of the songs, and the role is written to give her some generous time offstage.

I agree with the examples of Eva in Evita, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Shrek in Shrek, Charity in Sweet Charity, Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, and George in Sunday...

To that list I would add Dolly in Hello, Dolly, and the one that immediately came to mind for me as the show that truly has to be carried by one performer, or it's a disaster, is Mame. Without an excellent Mame, that show is going nowhere quickly.

TreyKenyon: I completely agree with you, but it seems in some small part that Claude is a bigger and more demanding role than simply any other Tribe member

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